The Benson football team outgained the Falcons by 70 yards during their sub-district showdown in Grove City, Friday night, and also registered their first interception of the season, but ACGC used an early return of a fumble for a touchdown, 203 yards rushing, and several costly Benson penalties to beat the Braves in a key section game, 28-19.

Benson went up 7-6 with a touchdown pass from Layton Connelly to Max Peterson and pulled to within 14-13 at the end of the first half when Ty Hedman hit Peterson for a 90-yard scoring play.

ACGC went up 28-13 with the first two touchdowns of the second half, but Benson had one last chance when Brett Sulier hauled in a 45-yard pass from Connelly for a touchdown, but when the extra-point kick failed, the Braves were too far back with only a few minutes left in the game.

“It was a game of big plays, field position, and momentum swings,” Benson head coach Scott Gonnerman said. “They were able to capitalize on some crucial penalties, one of which took some points off the scoreboard for us, they returned a turnover for a touchdown, and also recovered an onside kick.”

Benson fell to 1-3 in the Mid-State White District, and 1-4 overall. BOLD and Morris Area lead the Mid-State White with 4-0 records, while YME and ACGC are both 2-2.

The Braves are also tied for fourth in the Section 5AA standings with Sauk Centre, Paynesville Area, and Minnewaska Area. EV-Watkins and Osakis are both 4-1 and ACGC is third at 3-2.

Benson’s final three regular-season opponents are all 1-4 as well, and the Braves should have a great chance in each game, including this Friday night’s Homecoming game with Montevideo at 7 p.m. on Brock Field in Benson.

Besides Homecoming, this will also be the 15th game for the Lil’ Gold Jug between Montevideo and Benson. To date, the Thunderhawks hold an 8-6 edge over the Braves.

“Montevideo is 1-4 with its only win over Minnewaska (13-8),” Gonnerman said. “On offense, they have been throwing the football more this year and sprinting out their quarterback. On defense, they typically play a 44 Cover 3 or Cover Man, and they like to blitz one or two linebackers on most plays.”

Pictured: Max Peterson (6) takes in the handoff from Layton Connelly and then uses a block by Shawn Aarhus (73) and others for a big gain during the Braves’ loss to ACGC, Friday night in Grove City.

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